POTTSTOWN — There are several rough spots in its game Spring-Ford needs to polish up.

Comeback wins? Well, the Rams’ progression in that aspect appears to be further along.

Spring-Ford opened its season Friday in the PAC-10/Suburban One Challenge, facing off against Central Bucks South at Pottstown High’s Strom Gymnasium. And while the going got tough at times, the locals came up big at crunch time, rolling up a 73-67 victory over the Titans.

Bolstered by four starters scoring in double figures, Spring-Ford recovered from a seven-point deficit late in the third quarter to get its 2012-13 campaign off to a flying start. It scored 10 unanswered points to close out the frame with a 52-49 lead, went up on South by as much as 10 midway through the fourth, then salted the game away at the foul line inside the final two minutes.

Advertisement

“For a first game, with a lot of new faces, I’m proud of these guys,” head coach Mike Young said afterward. “I didn’t know what to expect, but the guys stepped up and fulfilled their roles.”

Two players on the Rams’ roster, Zameer McDowell and Gary Hopkins, were a week removed from active duty with the school’s football team on its extended run through the District 1-Class AAAA playoffs. With only five practices under their belts since seeing their football season end in the district championship game, the twosome showed the transition period to be moving faster than expected.

McDowell had a game-high 19 points out of the pivot, in addition to giving the Rams a surging force off the offensive and defensive glass. And Hopkins chipped in with eight points coming off the bench in the first quarter, helping his club reverse a 34-31 halftime deficit into a 52-49 lead heading into the fourth.

“We’ve just been working hard in practice, getting up to the pace in basketball,” McDowell said. “I lost five pounds already.

“In football, we were used to running four seconds at a time. In basketball, we have to run back and forth the whole time.”

McDowell contributed to Spring-Ford’s 9-for-14 showing at the line down the stretch, going 2-for-4 in a 28-second span of the fourth when South found itself forced to foul in an attempt to get the ball back. He also had a key blocked shot with 18 seconds left and the Rams holding a suddenly-tenuous 71-65 lead.

“They’ve come along quickly,” Young said of his two football-turned-basketball players. “Obviously, the football team had a great season. I’m impressed with how quick they got into the flow of things with only five days’ practice. I’m happy with that.”

Another key contributor to the Rams’ comeback cause was Drew Kakareka, who finished two points off McDowell’s pace with 17. The junior guard hit two of his four 3-point shots in the second half, in addition to a 3-for-4 at the foul line in the final two minutes.

“When they (South) were playing a 1-3-1 defense, they would double down on our big guys,” Kakareka said in explanation of his long-distance prowess. “The big guys did a good job finding me for the pass.”

Ryan Cass chipped in with another 14 points, which included a 5-for-8 at the line. Nick Stanek added 13 to round out the Rams’ double-figure foursome.

“The coaches stayed positive,” Kakareka said. “They tried to keep us positive and have us play with enthusiasm.”

Young confirmed his team’s rebounding resurgence as crucial to reversing the game’s course.

“That was a big thing,” he said. “We talked about rebounding (during) every time-out, at the end of every quarter. We were down to eight rebounds at the half. That was a big key to the game.”

Spring-Ford, like the other Challenge teams (Pottstown, Central Bucks West), will be heading to South’s Warminster campus to resume play today. The Rams will square off against West at 1 p.m., followed by the Trojans and Titans closing it out at 2:30 p.m.

“This whole weekend is going to be a big test for us,” Young said. “We have only two players who’ve played varsity minutes coming into the season, and we’re missing two who are sick.

“It’s going to be a physical and mental test. There were times they (South) made big runs, but we pushed through.”

NOTES

The Titans had a trio of double-figure scorers in Chase Vonder Schmalz (16 points), Matt Scamuffo (14) and T.J. Ohntrup (10). Scamuffo got his points off the bench, with three other reserves combining for another 16. ... McDowell, explaining the Rams’ improved rebounding down the stretch: “We knew rebounding would predict the outcome of the game. When we began to realize they (South) were shooting threes, we stepped back to get to the ball.”